Plowed Out

We got plowed out at 5pm.
Since it was a snow day, that was not a problem, but it's always a relief.

Tommy is not interested in mud. He'd rather stand on the snow.

Car is all ready to go to work tomorrow.

Time to go home.

It's Still Snowing!

It's still snowing, but the chickens need to be watered.

D tried shoveling, but the snow sticks to the shovel.

He decided to forge a path.

The dog almost has to bound to get through it.

The snow should taper in a couple of hours.

But the heavy winds will continue.

It's Snowing!

We went to bed, expecting another couple of inches.

Snow day was questionable, depending on the drifting.

Woke up when school called at 5:30 so say it's a snow day.

The above picture is an attempt to look out the computer-room window.

The picture below is out the bathroom window.

These windows are looking east (computer) or west (bathroom).

The woodpile is buried.

D shoveled for a bit at 5AM.

At 8AM there is no sign of any shovel work.

It's time to nap!

The corner is not snow on the windowsill.

That's a drift.

Aargh.

Dill Pickle Picture

We can lots of things in the summer. For several summers we made tons of pickles.

When I checked my website stats, I noticed lots of hits on my dill page. Interesting. Turns out that several sites had helped themselves to my picture. They didn't actually "steal" it. They just linked back to my page. I guess I should be flattered. But I decided to identify the picture.
Not a bad picture, I guess.

Merry Christmas 2010

The tree is decorated.

Presents are loaded underneath.

We're at Peri's for Christmas Eve.

The table is set for dinner.

Menu:

Cream of Broccoli Cheddar Cheese soup.

5-Cheese Ravioli with vodka tomato sauce.

Lobster Ravioli with brown butter sage sauce.

Prime Rib with garlic grilled asparagus.

Peri does not eat potatoes, so dessert looked like foil wrapped baked potato.

It was actually vanilla ice cream with cocoa powder, topped with icing like butter.

Whipped cream and green sprinkles looked like sour cream and chives.

Christmas Morning finds us at Frankie's house.

The tree is loaded with lovely ornaments.

Under the tree is Frankie's new bike.

After presents, we enjoyed a wonderful brunch:

Menu:

Potato-Leek soup.

Cream Chipped Beef in Toast Cups

Assorted breads.

A variety of interesting cheeses and meats.

The ride back home was uneventful. The chickens had laid 18 eggs in our absence. Their water stayed fluid. The cat came in for a warm dinner. All's right with the world.

Good Eats in Delaware

Dinner in Delaware

We spent a long weekend in Delaware. One of the treats was finding good food that is different from what we can get in our home area or fix ourselves. We were able to find some super meals at sensible prices. Always a winning combination.

Our first night, we went to a Vietnamese restaurant. It is located in a strip mall, with checkered plastic tablecloths. Their specialty is Pho'. We had no idea what to order and the young waiter advised us.

According to Wikipedia, "The soup includes noodles made from rice and is often served with basil, lime, bean sprouts, and peppers that are added to the soup by the consumer."

We chose seafood versions. Both were excellent. The bottom one is spicy. The round things are little pillows of tofu. The dish of lime, bean sprouts, jalapeno slices, and basil are to be added to taste by each person. The restaurant webpage is: www.phonhuvu.com.

The second night, we chose an Indian/Pakistani restaurant, The Tandoori Grill.

Once again, we had no idea what to order, so we took the advice of the counterman.

This picture shows a spinach and cheese dip and naan. We also ordered a goat curry. Both were excellent. The restaurant website is thetandoorigrill.com, but I have not found it to be working.

The next day was spent at the Hagley Museum, (http://www.hagley.lib.de.us/) learning about the DuPonts and gunpowder. It's a very interesting museum. There is a gunpowder demonstration - startled me! Also a machine shop demonstration. The Sunday School House had an interpreter and offered the opportunity to write with a quill. Workers labored six days a week, and the only day left for education was Sunday - it is not a religious school, but an opportunity for the workers to learn to read and write on Sunday.

The foreman's house also had an interpreter, but since the house is the same age as our own, there was not much interest on our part.

Lunch was a treat. We usually dread eating at a museum because of the cost and the quality. We usually pack a picnic. This day was different. We had checked out the menu, and it sounded good. http://www.hagley.lib.de.us/hagley-belin-house-menu.pdf We had grilled cheese and soup.

The soups (turkey chili or corn chowder) were homemade and delicious. The sandwiches were made on excellent bread.

But the real treat for this trip was the visit to Woody's. We had been there before and loved it.

This night was no exception. We did not make reservations, since, even though it was Saturday, we got there at 4:15. Oh, my, the place was packed! There were very few empty tables, and by the time we finished our dinner, the wait for tables was really long.

The tables are covered with butcher paper. There's a cup of crayons, in case you want to doodle. We ordered crabcakes with twice-baked potato and coleslaw. Also crab imperial with fries and coleslaw.

We really enjoyed this delicious meal.

The restaurant website is: http://www.woodyscrabhouse.com

We will be happy to take any suggestions you may have for where to go next!

Beans, Beans, Good for Your Heart

It's fall, and time to harvest the beans.

We grew fewer varieties than other years.

The best tasting are the Good Mother Stallard.

The weather has been fantastic,

so it's fun to sit in the sun and shell beans.

The Good Mother Stallard beans make an outstanding sausage bean soup.

Italian Sausage

Onion, celery, carrot, chard, kale, chicken stock, beans.

Another favorite is Tiger Eye.

This year we grew Scarlet Runner Beans,

just 'cause they're fun.

The bean-blossom is red,

hence the name.

Hummingbirds love the flowers.

Here's a little female.

She went from blossom to blossom.

~

The beans are an amazing purple color.

The beans are now finishing drying on cookie sheets.

The dining room table is covered!